About this collection

In 1912, the United States Navy commissioned the USS Arkansas battleship, for which the Pine Bluff Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution wanted to present a stand of colors. Surprised to find that there was no state flag for Arkansas, the Pine Bluff Chapter and the Arkansas Secretary of State office organized a contest for Arkansans to submit designs for the new flag. The Secretary of State office received 65 entries, of which Willie K. Hocker’s design was the winner. The Arkansas State Archives has 47 of the 65 potential state flags in our collection, digitized here for public use.